Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-03-20
ILL-OMEHED BIRnS.
Strange SupsrstitiOns which
Affect the Lives Of
Many Peoples.
ma EsxlIsh, Germans and French Par
tIeuIariy Noted for tssir Tradi-
tions Of Bird Lore.

letter 70 the Times Democrat states
,hat the popular superstition Of bird
80 Z much more deep-rooted than
.si;giou. Notwithstanding the augural
,s;s1ce being quite out Of fashion, the
so-sbodings which originate with Ger
80 birds have not In the least lost
.beir prestige with the country folks /;
bettsr still, the prejudices Of our in
s.Dry have such power that we often
-.ssf men Of undoubted enlightenment
- intellect who are the first 10 laugh
- these tales, but who cannot throw
At A disagreeable impression when by
essDee an owl should boot at night over
he house in which they might happen
70 be. j.
Al the present time, as in that Of
,ntiguity. the augural role belongs ex-
-lnsfyeIy 70 birds These masters Of
.nsrs the real go-betweens Of the ideal
,nd humanity, are perhaps not unnat-
rrsIly accepted as messengers Of the
ssIsstial will. These superstitions are
sonrnon 20 the most benighted negroes
snd 10 the most enlightened Of people:
az for instance, the French. upon the
E,d.lore Of whose country this article
III PARTICULARLY treat. There Is no
hing absolute in these superstitions;
he rendering Of the representation
often differs according to the country,
even sometimes TO localities near to
each other, and according to the condi-
dor in which the person 10 whom 1t
points finds himself.
ha
dove means 10 save a mans soul. To
I'M one Of these doves Is = sign of
death maybe OF the killers own death,
but more frequently OF the death OF q
child. A buzzard or a crow on house
top Il believed by the same people 20
b an inyariable sign OF death OF disas-
Ter. visit at the door from a rooster.
he approaching visit of friend: the
noise Of the screech owl, or "shiver-
ing owl. is q bad omen of many in
teypretations; while, IL the common
owl boots on your right, good luck will
follow, but bad luck should he take up
bis position on the left and boot there
from.
In France the handsome white owl,
With its beautiful plumage, Is accepted
everyWhere as n forerunner of death.
As Il that we're not enough to draw
upon il the animadversion OF all, this
Bird is often accused Of sacrilege; for
IN Provence and Languedoc Il is
charged with drinking the oil Of the
church lamps. However. in central
France, especially in Limousin. II q
woman in the house should be eneiente,
The boot Of she white owl simply an
nOunees the birth Of girl. very small
misfortune compared to the former one
Of death.
The reputation OF all night birds,
great or small. Is no better; but South
trn Imagination has discovered rem
tdy for all their spells, which con
sists OF throwing a pinch of salt into
The fire as soon as their sound Is
heard.
In the south Of Germany the crow
bespeaks good luck; but in France
anything but that Il seen In the morn
Ing. The same with the magpie-ill
luck II Il flies on your left; II, on the
contrary, on your right. you may be
assured that The day will be q forum
ate one. In England the influence OF
the appearance OF this saucy bird upon
current events is governed by the num-
bers In which he appears, and is thus
summed up:
Zone for sorrow;
Two for mirth;
Three for a wedding,
-Four for BIRTH"
And so on.
Could anyone suppose the joyous
little songster. the fnch--notably the
chAffineh--in the list Of birds OF i'll
omen7 But In the French province of
Maine and Angoumois. II he perches
upon the window-sill, Il indicates
treachery.
The Mancsaux are not more indul.
gent for another pretty little bird poet
ized in legend-the robin red-breast.
According 10 these people he has an
evil eye; make quickly the sign Ot the
cross and turn your head; and this in
spite OF the tradition that his ancestors
obtained their red breasts from the
blood shed for mans salvation on
Calvary. In Germany. II the robin
fedbreast is killed, the cows will yield
red milk.
Are you DESTROYS 20 obtain grass that
cuts wood and iron. or the stone that
curse blindness7 In the first case.
stop up with a strong peg the hole In
which the green woodpecker has her
Young; In the second case, cover over
With wire the nest Of the mAgpie In
both cases spread out a piece OF red
cloth at the foot Of the trees. The
heIt day YOU will find these two mar
Iels left BY the birds, and with which
hey made use ~ effect an entry In
their respective nests. The third case,
the cure for blindness, is more cruel (:
eni people are not very fastidious when
ns object is TO obtain such treasure.
Put out the eyes Of one OF the nest
EhgS, and the mother will fly to the
sa'hore and gather the marvellous
and, which you viii find in the nest
neIt morning.
The wryneck is servant and proyider
q the cuckoo He travels poSt-haste
eeiore his master, and arrives exactly
'selye days before him. As 20 the
suikoo himself, his mysterious ways
have always given ample food for the
rustic mind. In the canton OF Naud,
switzerland. his arrival announces a
Nrudescence Of cold II YOU have
= noney in your pocket the day you
bear the cuckoo for the hrst time, il
good omen. and you will have
your pockets well lined with money
daflng the wear; Il. on the contrary,
!og have no money about you, try
ahd Hatter your friends. for You may
: IN need Of their assistance before
eng
There Is also process for charming
way the fatal catastrophe Of all dis
Hses and this consists Of laying the
ahent on bed made Of the feathers
IN the wings of partridges.
The blackbjrd which crosses your
80 brings YOU good luck. The in
AeInts ot Solauge say that II this
81 does not live 90 an old age. il Is on
EsoQnt % the habit he has of perking
a,s tail 90 the wind. another exam
4 & an
they say in Normandy that the
-s'e'-ihrush speaks seven languages ;
IN Languedoc the shepherd who
- sag-tail will shortly witness the
80 % the finest sheep in his flock
= eaintonge they believe the goat.
sr ncubaieS its eggs by merely
lg Al them while the tradition
-. ms bird sucks the goats is pretty
"a The Tyrol many 81 the country
.e wear an eagles tongue in All
let rs preseryaiive against gid
.a..N ~